Chapter 242: Kidnapping the "Little Girl"
Those words undoubtedly struck Marco and Jozu right where it mattered.
Even if continuing the fight now gave them a clear tactical advantage, for the members of the Whitebeard Pirates, anything that might stain Whitebeard's reputation was absolutely unacceptable.
Marco and Jozu glanced at each other.
Their eyes gave the answer.
"You're right about one thing," Marco said. "The Whitebeard Pirates don't care for that kind of trick."
The pale blue wings of flame behind him slowly retracted. They looked like fire, but they carried no heat.
"And more importantly, we also want to see who the mastermind is."
Doflamingo laughed again.
His laughter was wild and unrestrained.
Considering his position as the king of Dressrosa, it would not be strange if someone made a play called The Mad King and used him as the model.
Marco felt a faint trace of regret.
Was it really wise to temporarily stop fighting someone this unstable?
However, before he could change his mind, Doflamingo had already rushed toward the center of Dressrosa.
Marco had no choice but to spread his wings again and follow.
Jozu did not linger either.
He turned to the others and said, "Wait here. Marco and I will check the situation and return soon."
After leaving that sentence behind, he charged out as well.
Although his body looked bulky, his speed was not slow at all.
The scene shifted.
What came into view was a charming castle rich in Spanish style, standing at the highest point of Dressrosa.
From there, one could look down and take in the entire country.
But at this moment, the castle was far from peaceful.
Under Pica's control, the entire building had transformed into a colossal war beast.
The citizens of Dressrosa looked up at the sight in astonishment, falling into confusion.
Many had been eating when they heard the commotion and ran outside.
In such a short span of time, their king's castle had turned into something that looked like it had come from a story.
A giant beast.
No ordinary person could make sense of it immediately.
As if announcing its arrival to the world, the beast stretched out its enormous limbs and roared toward the sky.
But the sound that came out was completely mismatched with its massive body.
It was sharp.
Childish.
The contrast was so strong that it ruined the terror of the scene.
Many citizens had not even thought of fleeing yet before they burst into laughter.
"Stop right there!"
Pica roared anxiously at the fleeing figure ahead, even forgetting to disguise his voice.
Usually, Pica cared deeply about others hearing that voice of his. Because of that, he normally kept his words brief and rarely spoke more than necessary.
But now, he could not care about such things.
No wonder he was so frantic.
The situation demanded it.
The task entrusted to him by the Young Master was to protect Sugar and guard the Tontatta Tribe.
However, Pica understood very clearly which side mattered more.
If the Tontatta Tribe was lost, they could always capture another batch.
But if Sugar was lost?
The moment she lost consciousness, chaos would break out across all of Dressrosa.
Everyone she had turned into toys would return to their original forms at once.
That chaos would have an enormous impact on the Donquixote Family.
It might even affect the Young Master's status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The figure Pica was chasing was naturally Axel.
Stop?
Axel thought to himself while running.
You tell me to stop, so I stop? Do you think I'm stupid?
The moment Pica shouted, Axel's footsteps became even faster.
He carried Sugar over his shoulder.
Her whole body was tightly wrapped in thick cloth, leaving her unable to move. She was wearing thin clothes, and Axel had even gagged her mouth.
Anyone who saw this scene would probably think Axel had done something outrageous out of improper desire.
Heaven could testify.
The reason Axel kidnapped Sugar was certainly not because he had some strange interest.
He had simply taken advantage of the situation.
After deliberately luring Doflamingo away, he seized the chance to plunder what mattered most.
Because he was familiar with Pica's ability, Axel deliberately avoided letting his body touch the ground.
In other words, the land itself was Pica's skin.
Walking on it would be like a bug crawling over a person's body.
It would be detected far too easily.
By tracking the electrical signals from the bodies of the Tontatta Tribe, Axel quickly located where they were being held.
The problem was that beneath the stone, he also sensed Pica.
Pica was watching that place closely.
Although Axel could not claim to fully understand Doflamingo's personality, he had a general grasp of it.
That man was the kind of villain who would destroy what he could not obtain.
Because of that, Axel had no choice but to shift his target to Sugar.
The reason he bound her like this was simple.
He was wary of Sugar's Hobby Hobby Fruit.
He had no intention of testing its power.
Who knew whether touching her would turn him into a toy?
If he became a toy, could he still move freely?
Could he still use his ability?
None of these questions were worth gambling on.
Aside from her terrifying Devil Fruit, Sugar herself was weak in combat.
She could not even break free from the restraint of the blanket.
Thanks to that, Axel had tied her up easily.
Gagging her was even simpler.
It was to reduce unnecessary misunderstandings during his escape.
As for the thin clothing...
Well, of course Axel had taken action while she was asleep.
No, not that kind of action.
Kidnapping action.
He had deliberately chosen this time to avoid Trebol.
That was how this awkward situation came to be.
With Pica causing such a commotion, Trebol also reacted and rushed out.
He soon stood on the shoulder of the giant beast Pica had transformed into.
"Trebol, what happened?"
Pica's sharp voice was full of anger.
"Didn't the Young Master entrust you with protecting Sugar? Can't you manage your head any better than you manage your snot?"
Trebol's mouth felt bitter, but he had no way to explain.
When Sugar took her afternoon nap, she had asked him to guard outside.
He did not have the habit of watching a little girl sleep, so he naturally agreed.
Yet despite there being no movement, she had somehow been kidnapped.
"The urgent thing now is getting Sugar back."
Trebol's voice became serious.
"Even if the citizens of Dressrosa return to their original forms, we can repeat what happened a year ago."
That was the only solution left.
Considering that brat's methods, retrieving Sugar safely would already be fortunate.
They could only prepare for the worst.
Pica did everything he could to interfere with Axel's path.
Rocks constantly rose from the ground, trying to block him.
However, the rugged terrain did not affect Axel in the slightest.
Even on vertical surfaces, he could still run freely.
Seeing this, Trebol continuously scattered sticky liquid from the air, trying to obstruct Axel's escape route.
But how could attacks dropped from such a height hit someone as agile as Axel?
They could not even touch him.
Instead, the sticky liquid that fell to the ground became an obstacle for Pica's massive body.
"Trebol, you bastard!"
Pica roared.
"Who exactly are you helping? Retract your ability already! The Young Master will be back soon. We only need to delay him for a little while!"
.....
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